Lloyd Pope delivers ripping wrong’un to herald a new dawn in Australian cricket

A RED-HEADED legspinner has delivered Australian cricket a crystal ball.

With a ripping wrong’un which offers a glimpse into the future, South Australian teen Lloyd Pope captured his maiden first-class wicket against NSW.

The 18-year-old’s wicket on Wednesday during his Sheffield Shield debut became a near-instant internet sensation.

Pope’s googly was Googled far and wide when posted by the Redbacks on Twitter — it had been viewed more than 12,000 times within three hours of ball leaving hand.

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Pope struck with a flighted ball which drifted in slightly to NSW tailender Steven O’Keefe, pitching half-a-metre outside off-stump.

Then, it viciously spun back into the pads of the O’Keefe, who couldn’t get his bat anywhere near the ball and was out plumb lbw.

“It was a bit of plan to the tailenders, to try and turn the ball both ways a little bit more. It worked, I guess, so it’s pretty good,” Pope said.

Pope is making his debut amid much hype about him developing into Australian cricket’s next great spinner.

The buzz has been around since he took 8-35 for Australia in an under-19 World Cup quarter-final last January — the best-ever bowling figures in the tournament.

Being a wrist spinner, comparisons have naturally been made with Australia’s leggie legend Shane Warne.

“It was pretty ridiculous, a lot lot of people started coming out and giving their opinions,” Pop said.

“It is a little bit tricky to try and back yourself if you think something is going right, then you have got 100,000 people telling you’re not bowling well or blah blah blah.

“It was quite a different experience.”

Pope has met his idol Warne once, during an Adelaide Oval Test match when the retired Test star was commentating.

“It’s interesting to see what people say about that (comparison with Warne),” he said.

“I’m probably a little bit of a different bowler ... I turn it a bit less than him and try and bowl a few more variations. There’s a few differences.”

Pope only started bowling legspin six years ago — he had been a jack-of-all- trades school cricketer, bowling medium-pacers and even trying wicketkeeping. Then, mucking around in the nets, dad noticed him land a couple of experimental leggies.

“I just liked bowling it in the nets and got a bit of turn naturally when I first started,” he said.

“I managed to take a couple of wickets in my first game and it just went from there.”